Nadia Ghulam Disguised Herself as a Man in Afghanistan to Support Her Family
Writer Nadia Ghulam impersonated herself as a man for ten years while she was in Afghanistan. She was born in Kabul in 1985, experienced civil war and faced all odds to survive in Afghanistan.
Writer Nadia Ghulam impersonated herself as a man for ten years while she was in Afghanistan. She was born in Kabul in 1985, experienced civil war and faced all odds to survive in Afghanistan.
Things took a turn for the worst when Nadia became a victim of a bomb explosion in Afghanistan when she was eight years old. She not only disfigured her face but also went into a coma for six months. For two years she was in two different hospitals.
Her brother died in the explosion while her parents lost their livelihood.
When Taliban took control of the city, women were forbidden from leaving their homes to study or work which forced her to change her identity.
To feed and support her family she disguised herself as her brother ‘Zelmai’ who was no more. She wore a turban and even hung out with male friends. She worked in the mosque as an assistant. She switched numerous jobs to keep her identity a secret.
The Taliban could have discovered her “real identity” and thus her new identity posed a real risk to not only to her life but also the life of her loved ones.
Associació per als Drets Humans a l'Afganistan (Association for Human Rights in Afghanistan), an international NGO in Kabul helped her to relocate to Catalonia.
When Nadia reached Spain she desired to tell her touching story to the world. She collaborated with journalist Agnes Rotger and published her first literary work El secret del meu turbant (The Secret of My Turban) which won the Prudenci Bertana Prize for fiction in 2010.
She is disheartened by the current situation in Afghanistan and feels that the attitude of America, the European Union, and other international forces who have been in Afghanistan for years is “more than a betrayal.”
They have armed the population; spurred governments marked by corruption, and are now leaving. “It’s all out of control,” she says.
Nadia launched her own NGO called the Ponts per la pau (Bridges for Peace) in 2016 that provides language courses for migrants in Catalonia and also assists school children in Afghanistan with materials and reading assignments.
In light of the current situation in Afghanistan, Nadia Ghulam’s distinct story has emerged and is captivating the attention of the masses.
